September 14, 2007

Packing up

Nob Hill Foods closes doors

By Jeanne Carbone Lewis
Staff Writer

Nob Hill Foods closed their doors Sept. 10 for a total renovation. By the next day, trucks were emptying the store in preparation for demolition. Photos by Jeanne Carbone Lewis

Neighbors and storeowners watched sadly on Sept. 10 as Nob Hill Foods at Snell and Santa Teresa closed their doors.

Nob Hill Foods opened the store approximately 20 years ago at the Santa Teresa Square Shopping Center when Alpha Beta vacated the premises. Residents and store owners are saddened by their friendly neighborhood supermarket that will close to be leveled, then remodeled and enlarged with a scheduled summer reopening.

“We’ll have a brand new store,” said store manager Romero Gomez. “It will be twice as big with a pharmacy, mail box center, full floral and seafood. All employees will be relocated to other stores until the new opening. Nob Hill is a good company and I love working for them.”

Gomez wasn’t sure where he’ll be placed temporarily but all courtesy clerks will be transferred to the Bernal Store.

Mojo Burger owner Peter Favre is concerned about the loss of business to Santa Teresa Square with the closing of Nob Hill Foods but plans to add incentives to attract continued business.

The Santa Teresa Square is a strip mall with restaurants, cleaners, nail salon, donut shop and all the services needed that cater to the residents of the area. Peter Favre lives in the neighborhood and also is the owner of Mojo Burger specializing in Meyers Angus beef, natural chicken and low-carb items as well. He has concerns regarding the construction zone the area will become with the remodeling but plans to add incentives of food discounts to continue to tempt patrons who voted the eatery Best Burger in the Metro in 2006.

“This is a neighborhood shopping center that provides all the services necessary to the area,” said Favre who opened Mojo Burger at Santa Teresa Square four years ago. “As a resident who lives in the area I’ll miss the convenience Nob Hill during the construction. And being a small business owner here, it has a huge impact. The landlord is working with us to ease the drop off in business.”

Favre estimated that with Nob Hill Foods closing for remodeling, his business would drop off 20 to 40 percent from less traffic visiting the strip mall. Favre is optimist the restaurant will survive the loss of patronage but also owning the first Mojo Burger at Bird Ave. and Minnesota will help.